When a heart breaks
by CadetMcKenna
Summary: Gabriela had her heartbroken once and it changed her view on life. The once innocent girl became head strong and built a wall around herself. After years of her brother desperately trying to fix his baby sisters spirit, Matthew Casey came along and changed everything.
1. Chapter 1

Summary: Gabriela had her heartbroken once and it changed her view on life. The once innocent girl became head strong and built a way around herself. After years of her brother desperately trying to fix his baby sisters spirit, Mathew Casey came along and changed everything.

The first time Gabriela Dawson fell in love was when she was 14. She had gone to a party with one of her friends from school and met Drake, a senior and first string linebacker on their schools football team. Immediately drawn to him, she put aside the fact that he was 3 years older and known as a player, she liked him and he seemed interested in her. They had been dating for 5 months before she even told her older brother, Antonio, about him or the fact that she had started dating. Antonio was 10 years older than her and a police detective for the city of Chicago. Gabby had dreaded the impending interrogation she would have with her brother, but her mother insisted that he should at least know. During one of the evenings that Antonio had set aside to spend with Gabby they were watching Law and Order: SVU when her phone started to vibrate, letting her know that she had a text message.

_Hey, wanna go to a party with me tonight? ~ Drake _

She smiled in glee because he wanted to actually take her to a party. Since Gabby didn't have any dating experience she thought this was all normal and looked forward to when Drake would actually acknowledge the fact that they were dating.

"What are you smiling at squirt?" Antonio joked as he tried to grab the phone out of her hands.

"Nothing!" she laughed as he started tickling her and snatched the phone away. Suddenly, Antonio's smile was wiped off his face.

"Who's Drake?" He asked with his eyebrows raised. Gabby's stomach dropped at the thought of telling him. Slowly she reached for her phone and closed it. Sensing a serious conversation, Antonio turned the TV off and turned to face his younger sister.

"Umm… Drake is my… boyfriend…." She shyly said as she looked down and tucked a piece of hair, which had fallen in her face, behind her ear. She didn't look up at Antonio to see his reaction, but judging by the way he hadn't said a word, she knew he wasn't happy about the revelation.

"I didn't even know you liked boys yet… I mean I knew you were growing up, but I didn't expect this for at least another year…" He sounded like he was mostly talking to himself, but when she looked up she saw him staring at her differently.

"I'm not a little girl anymore." She said quietly. He bit his lip. This hadn't been something they were used to talking about with each other. When she was younger they would talk about anything and everything, but now this was a whole new playing field.

"I know that Gabby, trust me, I know… You're growing up, I just wasn't prepared for this tonight." When he saw her face slowly fall he placed his hand under her chin and forced her to look at him.

"Tell me about him." He said with a subtle smile on his face. He was trying to pretend to be happy for her, but the truth was that he wasn't all that thrilled with the idea of her dating. He had to admit though, the smile on her face when he said that was enough to brighten his mood.

"Well his name is Drake Parkinson, He's a senior and on the varsity football team." Antonio's had warning bells going off in his head. First of all, he was too old for her, and second of all, he was a football player, which don't exactly have the best reputations. He tried to give her a convincing smile and even if it wasn't she didn't notice. She went on and on about him until he finally asked her,

"How long have you been dating this guy?" Gabby stopped mid-sentence and again her face fell and she looked down.

"5 months…" His eyebrows shot up.

"5 months?! And I'm only hearing about this now? Gabby I thought you told me everything?" His heart was breaking more and more as this conversation continued. Her head snapped up and she reached out for his hands.

"It's not that I didn't want to tell you, Antonio! I promise! It's just that… I was scared that you would be mad at me." She let go of his hands and faced away from him. Gabby was always desperate for Antonio's approval. Ever since their father was killed 10 years ago, he has become the father figure in her life. That's part of the reason why they're so close, he's the only father-figure she remembers and he helped raise her. Approval was just something Gabby had always needed from him.

"Gabby, I could never be mad at you. You having a boyfriend is just proof to me that you're growing up and the little girl I remember before I got married and moved out. I'm just going to need some time to adjust to the fact that you aren't my little squirt anymore." She put her head on his shoulder and he wrapped his arms around her. She snuggled into his side and said,

"I'll always be your little squirt, even when I'm you're age" He smiled to himself and placed a lingering kiss on her head.

"I'm holding you to that, squirt."


	2. Chapter 2

Gabby sat by the fountain in the park a long way from her school. Tears streamed down her face as she sobbed quietly to herself. Drake, the first person she had ever loved, had just dumped her for the head cheerleader, Tracy. After telling her he was just using her in front of the whole football team she ran from the school. She ran until she couldn't run anymore and found herself nearly 8 miles away from the place where she had just been humiliated. Sitting with her head in her hands she just cried a river of tears. Since it was the middle of the school day, no one was at the park except for the occasional elderly couple who didn't even glance in her direction. She wanted to die at that moment, swallow herself into a dark hole and never see the light of day again.

Climbing off the bench she sat down with her back up against the tallest wall of the fountain and wrapped her arms around herself. She remained like this for hours and stared into space as she thought back to when her heart had been broken in pieces and pretty soon she had fallen asleep.

_Gabby walked up to the lunch table where Drake had sat with his team every day. All conversation had stopped when she approached her so called 'boyfriend'. She was upset because he told her that he would eat lunch with her today and had waited for him by the picnic tables for 20 minutes._

"_Where were you?" she asked him with an angry look on her face._

"_With my friends…" He didn't even look guilty for standing her up._

"_You said you would meet me for lunch today!" All of his friends were giving him looks as Gabby crossed her arms._

"_Well I changed my mind. Now, go away, were done. I was just using you anyways." He then put his arm around Tracy and kissed her. Then out of nowhere Tracy got up and punched Gabby right in the face with full force._

"_That's to remind you of your place here, slut."_

_Her stomach dropped and watched as all of his friends laughed at her. Turning on the spot she ran out of the cafeteria and into the street. Her mind was all over the place and she didn't even notice how long she was running. Her legs were fueled by her embarrassment, humiliation, and pain. Nothing else mattered other than the fact that she had to get out of there. _

Gabby suddenly woke up and saw that it was pitch black out. She reached into her pocket and saw that she had 20 new text messages, 16 missed calls, and 4 voicemails. The wind picked up and she wrapped her arms further around herself trying desperately to block the cold air from her jacketless body. She opened her phone and saw that it was 10pm, she had been gone for over 10 hours.

_Gabby, where are you? The school called and said you skipped your afternoon classes. You are in so much trouble young lady! (11:24 am) ~Mom_

_Gabriela Elizabeth Dawson! Call me this instant! (12:02) ~Mom_

_Gabriela, Where are you? (12:30pm) ~ Antonio. _She felt sick; Antonio only ever called her Gabriela when he was angry with her.

_Gabriela Dawson! This isn't funny! Call me right now! (12:44pm) ~ Mom_

_Gabby, please, I'm not mad, I just want to know you're okay. (1:02 pm) ~Antonio_

She had 13 similar messages with in the 3 hour period after that and she knew she would be in huge trouble.

_Gabs, I called the police. Antonio is helping search for you. Please call me honey, I'm not mad at you (5:04 pm) ~Mom _

_Gabby, baby, if you can read this don't turn off your cell phone, okay? (8:25pm) ~ Antonio_

After she went through the text messages she dialed her voicemail and listened to them.

"_Gabriela Dawson! You get your ass home right now young lady! You are in so much trouble it is unbelievable." (Mom)_

"_Gabs, mom just told me you skipped school. What the hell are you thinking? Go home before I send the Chicago PD out to drag you to the precinct. I'm so disappointed in you" (Antonio)_

3 hours passed before the next voicemail was recorder.

"_Baby, I need to know you're okay. I'm not mad honey, please just call me back." (Mom)_

There was a 4 hour break before the last voicemail and she heard Antonio's frantic voice on the line.

"_Gabby, honey, my squad and I are out looking for you. You're going to be okay, Squirt. If you get this message I need you to leave your phone on. I love you so much." (Antonio)_

She felt her heart start to race. Everyone thought she was missing. Her mom and Antonio must be so worried right now.

At this point Gabby didn't know what to do. If she called her mom she would be mad at her for making everyone look for her and if she called Antonio he would be the same way. She figured her safest bet was to call Antonio since he was already out looking for her. Dialing the phone she put it to her ear and heard it ring once before he answered.

"Gabby!? Honey, are you okay?" He paused waiting for her to answer, but when she didn't his voice quieted down a bit.

"Honey I need you to say something, okay?" Gabby finally found her voice and sobbed out

"Antonio" And once she started crying she couldn't stop. The humiliation, pain in her face, and her broken heart were all pulled to the forefront of her mind and the wave of tears didn't slow down.

"Gabby, baby, I need you to tell me where you are. We have a general location on you from your phone, but not enough for an exact location" The emotion she heard in Antonio's voice was both relieved and worried.

"I'm in a park, I don't know what one though. I've never been here before." He sighed and said,

"Are there any landmarks? Can you see any street signs?"

"Yeah, there's a fountain with a really tall wall and a swing set. Antonio, I want to go home" She started crying again.

"Honey, you're going to be okay. I know what park you're talking about and I'll be there in less than 15 minutes, okay?"

"Okay. I'm so sorry, Antonio" Gabby said in a tearful voice.

"Honey, you don't have anything to be sorry for. I'm just glad that you-." The line cut out and she looked down and saw her phone had died. As if enough things hadn't gone wrong already today.

It started to drizzle and the wind picked up. Gabby was freezing, but at this point she didn't care. She still wanted to crawl into a hole and die. Drake had broken her heart and she didn't think she would ever love anyone ever again. No one knew it yet, but that day a part of Gabby was lost. Her heart was in pieces and a few were missing.

She heard the screeching tires of a car in the distance and knew it was Antonio. He had always been a reckless driver. She heard the slam of a car door and her brother's voice.

"Gabby?!" He yelled with his hands cupped around his mouth to amplify his voice.

"Over here." She said quietly, but just loud enough for him to hear and start running over to where he heard her voice. He knelt down in the wet grass and gathered her in his arms and breathed into her hair.

"I was so scared... Are you hurt? You're freezing!" he took off his jacket and helped her put it on. The wind picked up and she shivered.

"Come on honey, let's get you home" He didn't wait for her to reply as he picked her up like a baby, carried her to the car and placed her in the front seat. He tried to get her to talk to him, to tell him what happened, but she just stared out the window and said,

"I don't want to talk about it." No matter how hard he tried to get her to speak to him, she had shut down.

The rest of ride home consisted of Antonio casting worried looks at Gabby and rubbing small circles in her knee. They pulled up in front of the house where she knew her mom would be and sunk into the seat. Antonio got out of the car and walked around to open the door for Gabby, but when she didn't get up he crouched down in front of her.

"She's gonna be so mad at me. Please don't make me go in there Antonio, please." His heart broke for her, but he knew this had to be done.

"Honey, she won't be mad at you, okay? We're just glad that you're home. And I'll tell you what, if she is really mad at you I'll let you stay with me and Laura tonight, okay?" He stood up and offered her his hand.

Gabby hid behind her older brother as they entered the house. Their mother was on the couch and her head snapped up when they came in.

"Gabby!" She ran forward and grabbed her youngest into her arms and kissed her head repeatedly.

"I was so worried about you. Where have you been? What happened?" When Gabby didn't answer she looked to her son who had as much of a clue as she did.

"She said she didn't want to talk about it, mom. Gabby, let's go take care of your face okay?" Antonio placed a hand on her back and guided her to the kitchen where he lifted her onto the counter by the sink. Grabbing a wash cloth he wet it and started to wipe the blood from her split lip.

"Honey, please tell me what happened?" His face held so much emotion that Gabby finally broke.

"Drake was supposed to eat lunch with me today, but he stood me up! I went to talk to him and he started kissing this other girl and telling me that he was just using me." She started to cry and leaned into Antonio's shoulder.

"And then I got punched and I ran and I didn't know where I was going. I just ended up in the park and fell asleep, honest! When I woke up I didn't know where I was or how to get home. I didn't mean to worry everyone so much. I'm so sorry!" She managed to say through her sobbing and he rubbed her back and whispered soothing words into her ear.

"Who hit you? Was it Drake? I'll kill him…" He said angrily.

"No it was that girl he was kissing. She called me a slut too! In front of everyone!" Gabby continued to cry and Antonio did his best to sooth his sister, but he knew it was a lost cause.

"Shh, it's going to be okay, Squirt" He didn't know how to heal his sister's broken heart.

Her mom, having heard everything, came into the kitchen and grabbed her daughter into a motherly embrace. The last thing she wanted for her daughter was for her to have her heart broken. The first heart break is always the hardest.

A part of Gabriela Dawson, once innocent and full of spirit, died that day. She built a wall around her heart and refused to let anyone in. She didn't depend on anyone anymore and she threw herself into her school work. Gabby became closed off and remained broken until she started working at Firehouse 51 and her life was changed forever.


	3. Chapter 3

10 years ago. That's how long it had been since the day Gabriela Dawson lost her spark. A mere shell of the girl she once was now stood in her place. Never again had she thought about loving someone, no longer able to bare the possibility of a heartbreak, she closed herself off. After the incident she had changed school, friends ... everything. It helped a little, at first, but then Gabby grew lonely. She used to have her brother, Antonio, to help her through the trying times in her life, but one cancelled day turned into another and phone calls turned to texts. After her neice, Eva, was born and then her nephew, Diego, he no longer had time to spend with her. Either working or with his wife and children he only saw his other family 2 or 3 times a month. Antonio felt guilty for never having time for her, but it was painful for him to watch the changes in his younger sister. The changes in Gabby weren't many, but they were noticeable. Her smile change, her laugh became tired, and the social butterfly morphed into an untrusting antisocial girl.

Here she sat, 10 years later, joking with her CFD family during one of their many shifts at Firehouse 51. Mouch started making jokes about Cruz' lack of cooking skills and how Peter Mills sister better come in so they didn't all die of food poisoning.

"Haha very funny, guys, how about you watch the game, Mouch, instead of dissing my cooking." Cruz said as he waved a steak knife in the air. Shay walked into the common room and sat down next to Severide who threw his arm around her.

"Squad 3, Truck 81 Ambulance 61, house fire 23 park west" Jumping into action, everyone suited up and sped away towards the scene. Leslie Shay sat in the passenger seat of the ambulance while Gabby drove down the street behind Truck and Squad as a symphony of sirens followed them to the fire. Pulling up in front of the house everyone was looking onto the scene in front of them in horror. An apartment building, housing at least 60 people, was dangerously close to the building caught on fire. Flames were caressing the side of the apartment and smoke was entering the rooms of families who windows were open on this nice spring day.

"Squad, Evacuate that apartment. Truck, clear the house for Engine. Let's move! Dawson and Shay, make sure everyone evacuated is behind the safe line." Boden commanded in a strong voice. Severide and his squad tore open the door of the apartment and started rushing people out into the street, a safe distance from the building. Matthew Casey, Lieutenant of Truck 81, led his team into the burning house.

"Fire department, call out!" was shouted every so often as they combed through the house.

"Chief, were all clear. Send in Engine." Casey shouted in to the receiver over the roar of the fire.

Dawson and Shay stood by the ambulance behind the line of safety waiting for a victim to be escorted over. Luckily, no one was injured and once Engine had put out the fire, everyone made their way back to Firehouse 51.

The day had been busy, 4 calls within a 6 hour period had left everyone dying to sleep. By the time things had settled down enough for the members of Firehouse 51 to sneak off to their cots it had been 3am. Just as they were closing their eyes the alarm sounded again.

"Truck 81, Squad 3, Ambulance 61. Vehicle accident on I94." Again, they jumped off their cots and sped toward the scene.

They arrived at the accident to see that a Semi had smashed into a truck and looked like it was about to tip over onto it. Dawson, without thinking about the consequences, jumped forward and raced to the passenger side of the truck to see a small child in the backseat and her father in front.

"Dawson! Get away from there until that semi is stabilized!" Boden shouted at her as he saw her race to the truck. She didn't listen and instead tried to rip open the truck door to pull the scared looking child to safety. She always paid more attention to the well-being of others before her own. Seeing that she wasn't going to leave, Squad came to rescue and ripped open the doors, strapped them onto back boards and carried them over to Shay who was waiting by the ambulance.

"Dawson get away from there!" The chief shouted at her frantically. Gabby looked up and saw the semi tipping over and she was directly under it. Before she could scream she was slammed to the ground by an unknown force and her head was smacked down hard, making a sickening crack against the cold pavement. She was blinded by the pain as she laid on the pavement and was unable to move due to the shock of the impact she just took.

"Dawson?! Gabriela! Shay call in for another ambulance!" She heard the voice of the chief shout as hands searched her body for injury.

"Gabby? Open your eyes." She heard Casey talking to her. Slowly, she opened her eyes to see Shay, Casey, and Boden surrounding her. Gabby heard the siren of another ambulance in the distance.

"What happened?" She asked in a disoriented voice.

"You were almost squashed by a semi, Gabby. You would have been crushed if Matt hadn't pushed you out of the way. Now look at me and follow my finger with your eyes, okay?" Shay shined the pen light into her eyes and moved her finger. The other ambulance squealed to a stop and the doors slammed open as 2 paramedic's rushed over.

Antonio Dawson sat at his desk doing paperwork for his Captain when his personal cell went off. Seeing Gabby's picture pop up, he smiled to himself. He hadn't talked to his sister in over a week and after sliding to answer it he said,

"Hey Gabs! What's up?"

"Is this Antonio? Gabriela's brother?" He heard a man on the other end ask. Quickly, Antonio grew defensive.

"Yes. Why do you have Gabby's phone? Is something wrong?" He asked in concern.

"Hi Antonio, my name is Chief Boden from Firehouse 51. Your sister was involved in an accident during her shift. She's at lakeshore and we need you to come down so they can release her into a family members care. She's okay, just a concussion and dislocated shoulder." The chief informed him as he grabbed his coat and keys and headed out the door, shouting a quick explanation to his partner who would inform their Captain.

"I'm on my way, I'll be there in less than 10. What happened?" Antonio sped through the streets of Chicago, desperate to get to his sister sooner.

"A semi hit a truck on the highway and when we got the victims out it tipped over. Gabby was in the way of being crushed when one of my guys pushed her out of the way. When he did that she fell and hit her head on the ground and dislocated her shoulder." Antonio let go of the breath he didn't know he had been holding and sighed in relief. He had been so close to losing his sister, he didn't know what he would do if he had lost her. Tearing into the hospital parking lot he rushed inside and up to the reception desk.

"I'm looking for Gabriela Dawson? She's a paramedic that was brought here from an accident on the highway." The receptionist typed something into the computer and looked up at him.

"She's in room 213, second floor, east wing." Upon hearing that he chose the stairs over the elevator and ran up to the second floor to her room. Chief Boden stood outside Gabby's room and saw a man who looked like Gabby's brother rushing down the hallway.

"Antonio" The chief nodded and Antonio shook his hand before speed walking into her room.

Gabby was leaned up against the pillows with her eyes closed. He took her hand and brushed her bangs out of her face.

"Gabby? Squirt?" He spoke quietly in case she was sleeping.

"The doctors gave her some pain meds that are going to make her tired for a few hours." Matt Casey walked in carrying a small rose, which he placed on her bedside tray.

"Who are you?" Antonio asked with curiosity clearly shown in his voice.

"I'm Matt Casey, I work with Gabby. I'm really sorry that I pushed her so hard, I didn't know how hard I pushed her until she hit the ground." He looked like he felt extremely guilty. Antonio walked up to him and shook his hand.

"Antonio Dawson, Gabby's brother. I will never be able to thank you enough for saving her. I don't know what I would have done if something happened to her."

"You're not the only one, Antonio." He smiled at Gabby's sleeping form and rubbed soothing circles into her other hand.

Antonio looked at Matt Casey suspiciously. He liked Matt after saving Gabby, but he also got the feeling that his statement meant something. Antonio would never let anyone hurt his baby sister again, he would make sure of that, even if the man had saved his sisters life. Never again would Antonio watch as his sisters heart fell to pieces. He would make sure of it.


	4. Chapter 4

Disoriented...that's the one thing Gabriela felt as the pain medication she was given began to wear off. She blinked her eyes repeatedly trying to clear her eyes and make out what wad in front of her. Turning her head slightly she saw her brother Antonio on the phone and pacing outside the door to her room.

"Yeah, I'll be at Eva's game tonight. I promise. Love you too, baby. Bye" he snapped the phone shut and walked back into the room. Seeing that Gabby was starting to wake up, he sat down in the chair next to her bed.

"Hey Squirt. How're you feeling?" Antonio asked as he grabbed her hand and started rubbing circles into it with his thumb.

"Like I was hit by a bus. What the hell happened?" Antonio's eyebrows shot up.

"You don't remember?" He asked, confused and concerned.

"Of course I remember. I mean what happened after... whoever it was... pushed me?" Antonio sighed relieved.

"You really have to quit scaring me, squirt. I'm gonna get gray hairs because of you!" He said light heartedly. Gabby swatted his arm playfully.

"Sorry to burst your bubble bro, but you've already got a few." He smiled

"Well I'm older. Respect your elder's young lady!" They bantered back and forth until a knock at the door signaled the doctor coming to check up on her.

"Good, you're awake. So Ms. Dawson, how are you feeling? Any headache?" He asked as he flipped through her chart.

''No, I'm great." She said, but Antonio gave her an incredulous look.

"Actually, my head hurts a bit..." she trailed off, hating that she appeared weak, especially in front of Antonio.

"That's to be expected. You took a nasty hit to the head. Now I can prescribe some pain medication, but all you can really do is rest. You're a paramedic correct?" Gabby nodded

"Well I want you to take a week off in order for your shoulder and head to heal" Her head snapped up.

"What!? No! I can't afford to take a week off work." She swung her feet over the side of the bed and stood up. Antonio walked over to the other side of the bed where Gabby stood and grabbed her upper arms.

"Gabby, you need to listen to the doctor. No get back in bed." Gabby ripped her arms out of his grasp and crossed her arms. Antonio turned to the doctor,

"Can you give us a moment?" The doctor nodded and walked out the door.

"Gabs, please be reasonable. You have a concussion and you dislocated your shoulder, you can't work like that."

"No Antonio, I will not sit around and do nothing all week!" her arms were still crossed and put on her game face. She would not let Antonio control her like this. She needed to work, she could barely pay the bills as it was, taking a week off would cause her to get behind on payments.

"Yes you will! I will not have you hurting yourself further just to prove that you're wonder woman or something. Gabs, you need to stop trying to be tough all the time!" He through his hands in the air and let out a frustrated sigh.

"I can take care of myself just fine, Antonio." She wouldn't look at him and he wouldn't look at her.

"Gabby, I love you, and I can't just stand by and watch you kill yourself." Then she said something that she would come to regret.

"Then don't watch. Go away, Antonio." She closed her eyes and when she opened them he was gone. Just like that the one man she trusted to never leave her was gone. She knew she deserved it though, he was only trying to help and she pushed him away.

"I don't need you. I don't need anybody." She mumbled to herself as she wiped a tear that had escaped down her cheek. She gathered her purse and signed herself out of the hospital and called a taxi to take her to her apartment. She didn't even make it upstairs before she collapsed onto her couch and sobbed. She cried for everything wrong in her life. She cried for her brother, her father, Drake… everything that had ever caused her the least bit of pain. The floodgates had opened and she had no intentions of closing them. With every tear that streamed down her face the weight she felt on her shoulders had lessened. With every tear she felt herself become whole again.


	5. Chapter 5

Antonio fled the hospital in red hot anger. Never had he been this angry at his sister, not even when she went missing for 12 hours after her break up with Drake. Even then he wasn't angry, just worried. Right now he wanted nothing more than to shake sense into his sister, which is why he had to leave. You see, Antonio Dawson had a temper. No, he would never lay a hand on anyone he loved, but he could say things he didn't necessarily mean when he was angry. The problem with Gabby was that she too had the same temper and when two people with tempers collided it could mean an all-out battle. He sat in his car that was still parked outside the hospital. He slammed his hands against the steering wheel and started the car to go home to his wife and kids.

He walked into his kitchen and was greeted with the smell of dinner that his wife, Laura, had made. Walking up behind her he put his arms around her waist and laid his head on her shoulder.

"Hey baby, you're home early. How's Gabby doing? Did you take her home?" He kissed her on the cheek and said,

"I don't want to talk about it right now. Where's Diego and Eva?" He listened carefully and couldn't hear the usually sibling bickering coming from his kids, the house was quiet.

"Eva is over Kelsey's house working on a school project and Diego was invited to go to Kyle's brother's basketball game at the high school. So dinner is just you and me." She gave him a passionate kiss and then turned back to the stove.

"Now tell me what's bothering you so much? Does it have something to do with Gabby?" He asked as she chopped up carrots to put into the stew she was making.

"We got into a bit of an argument at the hospital. She can just be so stubborn! Sometimes I just don't understand her… she has a concussion and she dislocated her shoulder and she won't take time off work. She's going to kill herself at this rate." Laura turned to face him.

"Honey, she's Gabby. She's been stubborn since the day I met her. You're pretty stubborn too you know. Did you talk to her? Like actually talk? Or did you guys just get into it?" Laura knew that sometimes Antonio's temper could get to him and that he could say things in the heat of the moment, especially where Gabby was concerned.

Antonio leaned against the counter opposite of Laura and crossed his arms.

"I guess I could have handled it better. I don't know what to do now though. She told me to go away and leave her alone…" Laura closed the distance between them and took his face in her hands.

"You're her brother, she loves you. She could never stay mad at you." He leaned into her touch and whispered,

"I hope your right."

Gabby sat on her couch flipping through the TV channels when she heard a knock on the door. She slowly got up and stared through the peep hole and saw it was Matt Casey. After unlatching the door she let him in.

"Hey, what are you doing here?" She asked him, curious as to why he would come to her apartment at 5 o'clock in the afternoon.

"I just wanted to check up on you… make sure you were okay. I'm sorry, maybe I should have just called..." as he turned to walk out the door, Gabby reached a hand out to stop him.

"No! I mean, I was just surprised to see you is all. How are you?" She stumbled over her words a bit as she closed the door and led him to the kitchen to get him a drink.

"I'm fine. How are you doing?" He asked as they sat at the kitchen table.

"Great." She didn't know what else to say to him. They just sat there in silence and sipped their drinks.

"So when are you coming back to work?" After a few minutes of silence Matt asked.

"Tomorrow's 6pm shift. I'm fine, a little bump to the head shouldn't stop me from working." Matt knew better than to argue with her, it would only make her mad.

"Thank you by the way…. For saving me today." He reached across and grabbed her hand.

"I'd do it again. You mean a lot to me Gabby." They stared at each other for what felt like an eternity until Gabby's phone started buzzing. She took it out of her pocket and saw it was a text from her brother.

_Gabs, I'm sorry about earlier. Can we talk? Please?_

She didn't reply, just put it back in her pocket and got up to put the empty glasses in the sink. Matt got up to stand next to her.

"Do you think, maybe, when you're better we could go out to dinner or something? I mean you don't have to if you don't want to…" She turned to face him and looked into his eyes. She didn't think she would ever allow herself to feel this way about a man again, but something was different about Matt Casey.

"I'd like that"

AN: / Hey guys! So I hope you like my story so far. Here's the extra chapter that some of you wanted. Please review my story and let me know what you think! I'm also open to suggestions and ideas for future chapters if anyone has any. Also, I apologize if my updates are random sometimes… I'm still in school and have a part time job so updating on a regular basis can be difficult. Thank you again for reading my story and I hope you continue to read it in the future!


	6. Chapter 6

After a half hour Matt left to start his shift and Gabby got ready to go to Eva's volleyball game. Even though she was mad at Antonio she wasn't going to miss her favorite niece's first game on the middle school varsity team. Okay, Eva was her only niece, but she had always tried to be at every game Eva played in. Eva was great at volleyball; she had her father's quick reflexes and her mother's height. Standing at 5 foot 2 Eva was tall for the age of 12, but that made her an even better athlete. She practiced every day for 3 hours and only showed improvement; she was already being noticed by the high school varsity teams head coach. Gabby was proud of her niece, so proud, and there was no way she was going to miss this.

Putting on her coat she grabbed her keys and jumped in the car. During the 10 minute drive to the school she couldn't shake the fog that began clouding her brain. By time she pulled up in front of the school she was pale and a little light headed, but being the stubborn person she is, proceeded into the school and into the gymnasium 10 minutes before the game started which meant there weren't many seats left. She saw a small spot over on the side and took it.  
>Laura and Antonio sat in the middle of the stand and saw as Gabby walked in and looked for a seat. He almost waved her over but he couldn't get her attention. Her face was pale, pale as it could be with her Dominican decent, and Laura took notice to it.<p>

"Look at her... she looks horrible" his head snapped up to look at her more closely. Laura placed a hand on his shoulder as he stood to go to her and shook her head.

"You know it's only going to start an argument, honey. We can talk to her after the game" as he slowly sat down he said,  
>"Alright, baby." Even though he abided by his wife's wishes, he still couldn't shake the urge to march right up to his sister and take her home. She was in absolutely no condition to be here.<p>

The game started and Eva was by far the best player of both teams and would no doubt make a great player in high school, possibly even earn a scholarship. An hour later Eva's team won 2 out of 3 games and would be competing against their next school later that week on their way to the district championship.

Gabby desperately wanted to jump up the second the game ended in order to avoid Antonio, but she knew her niece would be disappointed if she didn't go see her.  
>"Hey girl! You were great!" Gabby said to Eva as she hugged her tightly and planted a kiss on her head. Eva looked up to her aunt, I mean who wouldn't? Gabby had always been around and when her mom wasn't available she was the first person Eva would go to with her problems. It wasn't that she didn't trust her dad, but he could get a bit over protective sometimes.<p>

"Thanks Aunt Gabby!" Gabby then looked at Laura, "Hi Laura, how are you?" She asked and offered a small smile, which was tough considering she was concentrating on standing straight.

"I'm good, how are you? Are you doing okay?" Laura looked concerned, so did Antonio, but her stood further back and just watched the interaction between his sister and wife.  
>"Yeah I'm okay; a little bump to the head wasn't going to stop me from seeing Eva kick some butt. Right sweetie?" Gabby turned to Eva who smiled in delight at her aunt's praise.<p>

"Eva, honey, go get ready to leave. Your dad and I have to talk to Aunt Gabby alone, okay?" She nodded and rushed off to the locker room where the rest of the team was.

"Okay, honestly, how are you doing?" Laura was still concerned for her sister-in-law. She was even paler than when she walked in and looked unsteady on her feet.

"Honestly guys! I'm okay; I just have a bit of a headache. It's really no big deal. I'll go home, take some aspirin, and go to bed. You guys are…" She trailed off as she saw black spots cloud her eyes. Gabby stumbled forward a bit and started to collapse before Antonio leaped forward, grasped her around the waist, and helped her sit on the bleachers. He crouched down in front of her and grabbed her face in his hands.

"Gabby? Look at me. What's wrong?" He was on the verge of being frantic, but keeping calm for Gabby's sake. Laura had her phone out, ready to call 911, but Gabby looked at her and said,

"Don't. I'm okay. Just a little dizzy, I promise. Just give me a minute" Antonio got up and moved to sit next to Gabby, placing his hand on her back. He looked into her eyes, which were glazed over and unfocused. With every second that passed he struggled with keeping his temper in check because upsetting Gabby again would only make her close herself off to him even more.

"Gabby, you have got to stop this!" His voice was tense. Laura placed a hand on his shoulder and looked at him,

"Antonio, don't do this right now." Laura spoke quietly.

"No, she needs to stop trying to be tough all the time. Gabby, you need to take care of yourself. I can't lose you." he had the same look on his face that he did when he found her that night in the park. A tear escaped down her face and he reached out to brush it away

"I'm just going to go home. I'll talk to you later" She got up and started to walk away when Laura stopped her.

"At least let one of us drive you home..." she didn't look up and just held out her car keys, which Antonio took and started to walk out with her.

Once they got out to Gabby's car he turned to look at her.

"Gabby, I love you, okay? I don't like to see you hurt, I don't know what I would do if anything ever happened to you. I'm sorry that I've been pushing you lately, I just don't want you to hurt yourself further by not asking for help-" Gabby tried cutting him off, "Antonio…"

"No Gabs let me finish. I've looked after you since you were a little girl and even though you're not a little girl anymore I will still look after you. I love you." By the end of his speech Gabby had tears in her eyes that had yet to over flow. Part of the tears were from the pain in her head, but a majority of them were because of how she realized how much her stubbornness was affecting the people around her.

"I'm sorry, I love you too." Was all she said before she got in the car. Just as she closed her door he got in and started the car. The drive to her apartment was quiet, neither Antonio nor Gabby spoke one word until they pulled into her driveway.

"Thank you for taking me home." She said as she popped open her door and got out. He walked her to the door and stopped her before she could go inside.

"I mean it Gabs. I love you and you need to take care of yourself. Call me if you need me, okay?" She nodded. After he kissed her cheek she went inside and shut the door. That night Gabby fell into a deep sleep. One of the best nights of sleep she's had in years.


	7. Chapter 7

Out of habit Gabriela woke up at 5 O'clock in the morning to run before shift. She was just sliding on her running shoes when she realized that she couldn't go running and that she wasn't allowed to go to work. Groaning she kicked off her shoes and threw them across the room where they hit her wall with a thud. She was already awake and there was no way she would be able to go back to sleep, so Gabby went into her small kitchen that was connected to the sitting room. Her house was extremely small, only 1 bedroom, a master bath, a little kitchen, and a sitting area. Living alone had its upside, like having privacy and not having to deal with roommates, but it also had a downside, for one, she only had one income and until the doctor gave her the all clear to go back to work she had no money coming in. Being a paramedic wasn't the most financially stable job out there, but the pay wasn't awful, and when she was working regularly she could live comfortably, only now she wasn't sure how she was going to pay her bills.

She opened the fridge and looked for something to eat for breakfast, deciding on a bagel and orange juice, since that's pretty much all she had at the moment because she hadn't had a chance to go grocery shopping in the last few weeks. After she ate and showered it was only 7 and Gabby had no idea what to do with herself. She just sat at her kitchen table and daydreamed. The sound of her door opening awoke her from her thoughts.

"Gabby?" she heard the hushed voice of her brother call from her sitting room.

"I'm in the kitchen" She called back, laying her head on her folded arms.

"Hey, I didn't want to knock in case you were still sleeping. Here, I brought you these." She looked up at him and took the bag that was being handed to her. She looked inside and saw that if was 2 blueberry muffins from Laura's bakery.

"Thanks. No, I've been up for a few hours. I'm so used to getting up early." He took a seat in the chair opposite from hers.

"Yeah I know the feeling.' He laughed 'but anyways, I just wanted to check on you before I went to work, make sure you hadn't snuck out and gone to 51." Antonio teased her and Gabby offered him a small smile.

"I'm okay, I don't feel so great and I'm bored, but it's only a few more days, right?"

"Yeah, you'll be back to work in no time. Now, I have to get going before Voight gets on my ass. I'm gonna have my cell on me today in case you need me, if you get too bored go hang out with Laura at the bakery, I'm sure she would love to have the company while Diego and Eva are at school. I love you Gabs." And with a kiss on the cheek, Antonio was out the door.

Matt Casey was walking up the pathway that lead to Gabby's just as Antonio was closing the door.

"Hey, Matt Casey, right?" Antonio asked as he shook Matt's hand.

"Yeah, how's Gabby doing?" He asked as he stuffed his hands in his jacket pockets.

"She's pretty bored, man. As I'm sure you know, Gabby doesn't know when to just relax, she's been that way since she was a kid." Antonio said as he chuckled, remembering how energetic Gabby had been when she was younger.

"Yeah, I know. She never knows when to take a break. That's part of the reason I'm here. I just wanted to check up on her before I started shift." Antonio knew Matt's intentions were good, but he was still a little wary of the men in Gabby's life, for obvious reasons of course.

"Mhmm, sure. Now let me ask you something. Do you like my sister?" The bluntness of Antonio's statement caught Matt off guard and he stumbled over his words.

"Well, I... I think Gabby is a wonderful woman. I think she is one of the best people in my life right now." Antonio raised his eyebrows and crossed his arms.

"That doesn't answer my question." Matt's hands started to sweat.

"Yes. Yes, I like Gabby very much." Antonio uncrossed his arms pointed a finger towards Casey.

"If I ever find out you hurt her….. You're going to answer to me. Got that?" Antonio knew he was being harsh, but he didn't think that Gabby could stand another heartbreak. All Matt could do was nod.

"Good." He said as he clapped Matt on the back and walked towards his car. As Antonio drove away, Matt just stood there in shock. Not because he was scared of Antonio, but because he actually lived through the confrontation with him. He knew that Gabby's brother was extremely overprotective of her; she had told him stories on numerous occasions.

Neither Antonio nor Matt knew that Gabby had been listening through the open window in her sitting room. She leaned back onto her couch and smiled. Matthew Casey, the man who she had been in love with for over a year, liked her back.


End file.
